SAN MARCOS: CSUSM named top recycler among U.S. colleges

ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer

SAN MARCOS -- Cal State San Marcos University is young and small
compared with many other college campuses across the country, but
the local university apparently tops the list when it comes to
recycling.

The university was recently named "grand champion" in the
national RecycleMania contest, which challenged colleges and
universities to keep the most trash out of landfills. Cal State
recycled more than 75 percent of its trash over a 10-week period
early this year, enabling it to beat out more than 400 other
colleges and universities for the top honor.

This is the fourth consecutive year the university has claimed
the top spot in the annual contest, sponsored by Coca-Cola. Cal
State also won several contest subcategories.

University officials said last week that the achievements are
the direct results of a recycling program launched when the campus
opened in 1992. The program is designed to keep as many used soda
cans, plastic drink bottles, discarded cardboard and mixed paper,
landscaping clippings, building materials and even coffee grounds
out of the trash as possible.

The early start meant university administrators, faculty and
staff members "bought into" the program from its inception, giving
it an edge over universities faced with trying to change
less-environmentally friendly habits that date back decades or even
centuries, they said.

"We've had very strong support from the top down, all the way
from the beginning," said Carl Hanson, who heads the program. "And
it's kind of like a culture on campus now."

Multiple benefits

Students interviewed in the campus' Kellogg Plaza, which sports
multiple collection bins for aluminum cans and plastic and glass
bottles, seemed to buttress Hanson's belief that the recycling
program has become part of the campus culture.

"I love recycling cause it's good for the environment and it
makes me feel responsible," said Amber Wright, a 21-year-old junior
majoring in human development. "It's very easy 'cause there are
bins everywhere."

David Richardson, 21, a senior majoring in economics, said he,
too, finds it easy to drop items into the collection bins.

"They're right next to the trash cans, so you might as well,"
Richardson said.

Recycling is just one aspect of a "green" trend that has become
increasingly popular in recent years, due in part to concerns about
global warming, the nation's dependence on petroleum products, and
the environment in general. Hanson and Ed Johnson, Cal State's
director of facility services, said many businesses and
institutions don't realize that keeping trash out of landfills can
boost their bottom lines as well.

Lower trash hauling costs are the most obvious benefit. Cal
State, which shares the money it recoups from recycling aluminum
cans, plastic bottles, glass, cardboard, and mixed paper with its
hauler, Edco Waste and Recycling Services, made enough to save
$150,000 in hauling fees in 2006, the last year for which figures
were available, Hanson said.

"That's money we can be spending on other things on campus," he
said.

State law also requires California cities, businesses and
institutions to meet minimum trash diversion goals. Cal State's
state-set target is 50 percent; failure to meet the goal can bring
the campus fines and citations.

Multi-pronged effort

Johnson said society benefits as well, because recycling helps
the environment and trains people to be "green" consumers.

Johnson and Hanson acknowledged that the logistics of recycling
can be daunting. An on-site recycling center and a six-member team
of people who collect and sort items placed in the campus' 150
collection bins daily are key components of Cal State San Marcos'
program.

It also includes an education component that includes fliers
touting the need to recycle, and events like an annual pizza party
that offers free recycling-oriented freebies and games that test
students' knowledge of the subject.

Johnson said the program does face its share of challenges.
Those include Cal State San Marcos' status as a primarily commuter
campus, which means students often leave trash from their cars in
the school parking lots, he said.

Cal State's only dorms, University Village Apartments, present
another hurdle because they are run by a private company, Hanson
and Johnson said. University officials are working with the dorms'
managers to improve the recycling rate among the resident students,
the men said.

"It is labor-intensive, that is a fact," Hanson said about the
recycling program. "But the more you educate your campus community,
the less that is."